1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a loading and unloading apparatus, and in particular to an apparatus for the loading and unloading of presses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automatically operating processing machines, such as, for example, presses, must be automatically loaded with the delivered workpieces to be processed and must be automatically unloaded again after the processing of the workpieces.
In so-called press-lines in which the workpieces are subjected to a plurality of processing steps, one after the other the workpieces must be transferred from one press to the next. This is often referred to as a chain of presses.
In order to keep the cycle times for the automatic processing machines as low as possible, the loading and unloading as well as the transfer must take place as quickly as possible. Moreover, with a chain of processing machines it must also be possible to bridge greater spacings.